(a) Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to connected tiles made by connecting a plurality of ceramic tiles adjacently with one another on the back surfaces so as to be bonded set by set onto a floor surface or wall surface and a method and apparatus for connecting tiles with one another.
(b) Description of the Prior Art:
In the case of bonding ceramic tiles onto a floor surface or wall surface of a building, if they are bonded one by one, the bonding efficiency will be low and it will be difficult to correctly arrange them. Therefore, there is generally adopted a working method wherein several or 10 to 20 tiles are arranged the same as are bonded by using an arranging frame, are connected integrally with one another as a set by pasting sheet-shaped or net-shaped connecting pieces with a bonding agent on the back surface or front surface of the set and are bonded set by set in turn on the spot. In the case of connecting such tiles with one another by pasting connecting pieces on the back surfaces of the tiles, as mentioned in the gazette of Japanese utility model publication No. 25064/1980, there are used four tiles integrally connected with one another by pasting a connecting piece having a through hole formed in the center onto the collecting part of the respective corners of the tiles. However, the connecting piece having a through hole formed in the center has defects that it must be made by punching a sheet material, is low in the rate of yield, requires an equipment on a large scale in punching, is low in the working efficiency and is high in the production cost and that, in case the tile has concaves and convexes formed on the back surface to elevate the bonding strength onto the bonding surface, the connecting piece will float up in a part from the concaves on the back surface of the tile to reduce the bonding force.